


Revenge is Best Served with Hesitation

by Heresetrash



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Lives, Ben Solo Lives, Bottom Kylo Ren, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Revenge, Smut, Star Wars/The Expanse Fusion, Top Armitage Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:47:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heresetrash/pseuds/Heresetrash
Summary: Hux had never been one to do his own dirty work. He preferred to send others to perform those tasks for him. Not because he couldn't do them himself - he was more than capable - but such work was time-consuming and messy, and he had better things to do. Kylo, however, was different. This was personal. Hux didn't just want to kill him himself, heneededto.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 18
Kudos: 97





	Revenge is Best Served with Hesitation

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a while since I posted anything. I sadly haven’t had much motivation to write, but I recently dug out this fic from the dreaded WIP folder, found myself inspired and managed to finish it. Woo!
> 
> Concerning the Star Wars/Expanse fusion: You don't need any knowledge of the Expanse to read this fic. I just decided to use the planet Ceres as a backdrop and put it in the SW universe because it's a dark and gritty place well suited for two runaway war criminals.
> 
> Thanks a bunch to [shinysylver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinysylver) for beta-ing this for me <3
> 
> There are a few words in Belter Creole in this fic. You can scroll to the bottom notes for translations.
> 
> The art, by the way, is also made by me.

Running his fingers over the monomolecular dagger hidden up his right sleeve, Hux stood covered in darkness in a dank and filthy alley. The street he was keeping a close eye on bathed the stream of questionable passers-by in multi-coloured light from neon signs. However, those people were a mere blur to Hux. He was waiting for someone special to show, someone who passed by every evening.

"Oye," a voice came from behind him and Hux almost pulled out his blade in response to the sudden sound.

Whipping around, he found a young woman leaning against the wall, slowly tracing a geometric tattoo around her neck with a long fingernail. She was an easily recognisable Belter with her unusual height and long, slim limbs. Hux had to look up to meet her gaze.

"To wanya wa tim gut ke?" she asked, smiling invitingly at him.

Hux relaxed. He didn't know the local Belter language but he was fairly certain what she was asking anyway. After all, the red light district of Medina was right around the corner.

"Not interested," he told her firmly, turning away from her again.

"Dzhemang," he heard her hiss back at him. He didn't know what it meant, but he was certain it was an insult. He was also certain he had been called worse.

The young woman almost made Hux miss the all too familiar sight of black hair and broad shoulders making their way down the dirty street trying to blend in with the locals.

Kylo was pretending to be a bloody Belter, having adopted their style of eccentric clothing. On their own, the pieces the Belters wore were okay, but together they looked _off_. Some items were ripped and torn to the point that it was a miracle they were still wearable. Kylo had even cut his hair in what Hux had come to learn was Belter fashion - shaved on both sides.

While Kylo had never adhered to the clean lines and strict dress code of the First Order, at least he had looked somewhat put together back in those days. Now, he just looked like a bum. And as much as he tried to assimilate he would never fool anyone into believing he was a born and bred Belter. While considered tall anywhere else in the galaxy, he was short compared to the locals. Not to mention his hulky physique. Among the skinny and sinewy Belters, Kylo was a battleship of a man. His disguise was ridiculous.

Hux watched from the shadows as Kylo passed by him, disappearing down the street and blending into the busy, eclectic crowd. As soon as he was out of sight, Hux pulled up his hood and stepped out of the alley, making his way in the opposite direction.

He had spent more than a year tracking Kylo down. After Exegol, he thought for certain Kylo was dead. He thought it was finally over. That after years of degradation and humiliation, after being used and abused, and stripped of his power and rank, _he_ was the last one standing while everyone else around him had fallen. He - the weak-willed, useless boy from Arkanis - had outlived them all.

But then a faint whisper from the remnants of his old spy network told him that Kylo might not be dead after all - that he had somehow survived Exegol and was now living on the run.

It hadn't been easy to find him. The traces were few, close to non-existent if you didn't know what to look for - if you didn't know Kylo. Unfortunately, or perhaps luckily in this case, Hux knew him very well.

The hunt had eventually led him here, to Ceres. Kylo had jumped from trash chute to trash chute, but Ceres was truly the sewage of the galaxy. It was, however, a great place to be if you wanted to disappear.

A few blocks away from the alley Hux had spent more time than he would like in the last week, was a gritty rental complex. Like most of Medina, it was low key and no questions asked. It fitted Hux just as well as it clearly fitted Kylo.

There were two Belters in the foyer of the complex. Their conversation halted as Hux entered the building and they looked at him with suspicion. But as Hux kept his eyes down, they went back to whatever discussion they were having before he turned up.

Hux made his way up the stairs to the second floor, stopping outside the fourth door to the left. Fishing out a digital lock pick from his inside pocket, he efficiently unlocked Kylo's door with a quiet click and slipped inside the one-room flat.

Once inside, he took a moment to observe the room. He had watched Kylo come and go several times, but this was the first time he was inside himself. What hit him first was an all too familiar scent - the same one Kylo's chambers used to smell like. The smell of _him_. Only here it was muskier, trapped in a small room with bad ventilation.

Looking around, there wasn't much to find: a bed in the middle of the room halfheartedly made up; a closet in the corner storing more of the strange clothes the Belters preferred; the bathroom held only the bare necessities. There was nothing personal, nothing to give away who the man living there really was. Or rather, had been.

Once, Kylo had been the most powerful man in the galaxy. Now, he was nothing but a filthy war criminal most believed to be dead. Ironically, that was the only thing they had in common anymore.

Hux took his place by the door. He slid his monomolecular dagger out of his sleeve and a hint of a smile appeared on his face as it glinted in the dim light of the room.

He had never been one to do his own dirty work. He preferred to send others to perform those tasks for him. Not because he couldn't do them himself - he was more than capable - but such work was time-consuming and messy, and he had better things to do. Kylo, however, was different. This was personal. Hux didn't just want to kill him himself, he _needed_ to.

* * *

It was well into the night when Hux jolted upright from the sound of heavy footsteps outside the door. He pressed himself close to the wall with his dagger tightly gripped in his right hand. Suddenly his senses were on high alert, his breath catching at the back of his throat and his heart pounding hard enough in his chest to crack a rib.

The door clicked open and Kylo stepped through it. Immediately inside, he paused as if sensing something was off. A brief thought crossed Hux's mind at that moment: wasn't it strange that Kylo hadn't sensed him from outside the door? However, the thought was quickly pushed aside. He wasn't about to throw away this opportunity - the last opportunity he would likely ever have.

As quietly and quick on his feet as a cat, Hux grabbed Kylo from behind and put his monomolecular blade to his throat.

A few seconds of tense silence passed before Kylo said, "Hux."

Hux didn't reply, only smirked. At least Kylo recognised who had come for him.

"I never thought you would man up and actually do it."

Hux's smirk twisted into a sneer. He couldn't believe Kylo was still displaying this level of arrogance. Even with a knife to his throat, he still saw himself as better than Hux, didn't he? Still thought of Hux as a rabid cur to be used.

"It shouldn't have taken you this long," Kylo went on.

Hux knew he shouldn't take the bait. He shouldn't play Kylo's game of delay and give him the satisfaction of a reply, and yet-

"How long have you known I was here?"

Kylo gave a dark chuckle, and Hux could feel how his Adam's apple bobbed under the sharp edge of his blade. "I sensed you the second you set foot on Ceres a week ago. I could have killed you before you ever spotted me."

"Then why didn't you?" Hux hissed into his ear.

If Kylo had known all this time that he was on Ceres, why hadn't he done anything? Why had he let Hux follow him around? The answer was obvious: Kylo toyed with him because he didn't think Hux could get the upper hand on him. Well, he was wrong. Hux had had more opportunities to kill him than he knew of.

"The same reason you haven't already sliced my throat open. The same reason you didn't kill me the other times you had the chance."

Hux's body tensed. He grabbed the blade tighter and pressed it firmer against Kylo's throat, breaching the skin just enough to draw a few drops of blood. "Stay out of my head," he growled.

Kylo let out a quiet grunt. "I don't need to be inside your head to know that, I just need to know you."

Hux didn't want to dignify him with a response, but he couldn't help himself. Kylo was the only person who always managed to press all the right buttons and make him lose his cool. "You may think you know me, but you know nothing about me!"

For some reason, Kylo didn’t come back with a smart remark. Instead, he said, “When I first picked up on your presence here, I thought the Force was playing a trick on me. I was surprised to find you alive, but not disappointed.”

“Liar,” Hux immediately fired back at him.

Kylo carefully shifted on his feet and dared to turn his head despite the dagger. It granted Hux a familiar view of his prominent profile which was made even more obvious by the shaved sides of his head. “I was hoping, you know, to be close to you again. Although, this wasn’t quite what I imagined,” he whispered alluringly.

Hux swallowed as unasked for memories of warm bodies entwined in passion flashed through his head. He pressed his eyes shut for a brief moment. There was no chance - _no_ chance - Kylo still harboured any sort of feelings for him. How could he? That was all so long ago, practically another lifetime. They were different men now. No, Kylo was clearly just trying to get to him.

"I'm not falling for that bantha shit," Hux sneered.

"It's true," Kylo replied calmly.

Hux huffed. He didn’t understand where Kylo wanted to go with this. Why, after all these years, was he saying this now? Why was he trying to dig up old memories of the two of them? Memories that were best left buried.

It made no sense that Hux had fallen for Kylo. If he found beauty in anything at all, it was structure. There was comfort in discipline, and he had always believed that the true enemy of the galaxy was disorder. Yet somehow, Kylo, who was the personification of chaos itself and everything Hux detested, had mesmerised him.

Before Hux was officially introduced to Kylo, he saw him in battle. He had thought that Kylo was mad when he - without hesitation - left Hux’s Stormtroopers behind and charged the enemies alone. He held nothing back and went full force from the first blow with his lightsaber. There was no finesse to the way he fought. He was rough and unrefined, like an uncontrollable storm. He was unstoppable, and Hux couldn’t take his eyes off him.

"What's your point?"

Looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Kylo said, "Dying gives you a new perspective on what's important."

Hux scoffed. “Oh yes, I'm sure you're a completely different person now."

"That's closer to the truth than you know."

"You're insane."

"Do you even know what happened to me on Exegol?" Kylo asked him calmly.

"No," Hux replied brusquely, glaring at him. "For once, you weren't my priority as I was busy fighting to stay alive."

Kylo did the closest thing he could to a nod with a knife still at his throat. "Right, the spy thing."

Frowning, Hux asked, "You knew?"

"Of course, I knew."

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise to Hux that Kylo knew he had been the spy in the Final Order, but it did. If he knew, why hadn't he done something about the matter long before Pryde figured it out? It was like he didn't even care.

"Then why didn't you do anything? It must have been the perfect opportunity to have me liquidated."

"Because it didn't matter," Kylo replied casually.

"It didn't matter?" Hux pressed. It was rare that he wasn't able to follow someone's train of thought, but Kylo had him confused at the moment.

"I knew we were all about to die anyway."

"How could you possibly know that? Unless-"

Unless he never planned to follow Palpatine in the first place.

Hux sucked in a sharp breath as the realisation hit him. "You didn't go to Exegol to fight the scavenger girl. You went to help her fight Palpatine."

A smile tugged at the corner of Kylo's lips. "You were always smart. I knew you would figure it out."

Unexpectedly, the first sensation to hit Hux upon learning this was relief. He had assumed that Rey had tried to take Kylo out along with Palpatine. Instead, Kylo was just as responsible for the downfall of the Final Order as he was.

"So we are both traitors to our cause then," Hux said. His voice was closer to a whisper at this point.

Kylo huffed a laugh. “Who would have thought we were on the same side this entire time?”

Slowly then, Kylo’s fingers came up to tentatively touch Hux’s knife-hand, and when Hux didn't flinch, he covered his hand with his own. Heat spread from the point of touch throughout the rest of Hux's body. He swallowed.

Gently, Kylo squeezed his hand, and as if on cue, Hux dropped the monomolecular blade, which fell to the floor and shattered. Kylo turned without moving away from Hux, and within seconds, they were on each other.

The kiss was like the taste of water after days in a desert. It was like slamming open the doors of prison after captivity and breathing fresh air. It was the very realisation of somehow having made it out despite the odds. And Hux wanted more.

Clawing at Kylo's shirt, Hux pulled him even closer, smashing his mouth so hard against his that it hurt. But it didn't matter. Quite the contrary, a little bit of pain was just what he needed to prove that this wasn't just a dream or a hallucination. They were both here, they were both alive and they both wanted this.

Hux had always been a patient man in every aspect of his life, but there was no sign of self-restraint as he made quick work of Kylo's belt and zipper fly and shoved his hand down his underwear to find his already hardened cock ready for him.

Kylo groaned loudly at the touch, his head falling back against the paint-chipped wall.

"Kriff," he let out as Hux’s hand worked his cock.

Hux studied his face, fascinated by how openly Kylo displayed his pleasure: with a deep frown, eyes closed and biting down on his bottom lip. He had always been like that in the bedroom: no inhibitions, an absolute mess of lust and desire. And Hux was too easily intoxicated by the knowledge that he was the one who made him feel that way.

Kylo opened his eyes to meet Hux's and suddenly Hux felt the most exposed he had in years. He couldn't take it, couldn't take Kylo looking at him the same way he had just been studying him. So instead, he forced Kylo to turn around and face the wall, then pulled his trousers and underwear down to his ankles in one swift motion.

"The nightstand," Kylo told him hoarsely before Hux could ask the question.

Making his way over to the bed, Hux found what he was looking for. With the lotion in hand, he roughly pushed at the inside of Kylo's feet to make him spread his legs wider. Then, coating his fingers with the lotion, he spared no time or mercy before pressing two fingers into Kylo straight away. Kylo grunted like a beast at the sudden intrusion but pushed his ass back, all too willing to take what Hux gave him.

It wasn’t long before Kylo was a moaning mess at Hux’s hands.

"Just fuck me," he breathed heavily.

Already impatient, Hux wasted no time unbuckling his belt and getting his own cock out of his pants. He coated it with a generous amount of lotion, lined himself up at Kylo's hole, and with a swift shift of his hips, he buried himself deep inside him.

There was a loud, filthy moan from Kylo and Hux breathed sharply through his nose as he pulled almost all the way out and ploughed straight back in. He quickly sped up to an unforgiving pace, forcing Kylo to brace against the wall with both hands as he rapidly thrust into him.

Hux was far gone in his own greedy hunger, so much so he was almost overwhelmed by it. It wasn't long before he could feel the telltale signs of an orgasm building.

Snaking a hand up Kylo's chest to his throat, Hux wrapped his fingers around it and squeezed. Kylo's reaction to the light chokehold was instantaneous. His head fell back to expose his neck further, and one of his hands dropped to his cock to further pleasure himself.

It was amazing how compliant Kylo could be whilst getting fucked. He would accept anything from Hux like this. Hux could kill him here and now if he wanted to. All he had to do was squeeze that thick throat of Kylo’s a little harder and it would be the end of him.

Hux snarled in triumphant arousal and dug his other hand into Kylo’s hip. He kept fucking him at an unrelenting speed until his orgasm forced him off his rhythm. He abruptly stilled deep inside Kylo and with a low growl, spilled into him.

Through it all, he kept his chokehold on Kylo, who was vigorously jerking himself off and shamelessly moaning in pleasure. It didn’t take long for him to come - hard and loud, making him collapse against the wall.

When they had caught their breaths again, Hux made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up. He sighed as he met his own eyes in the broken mirror and ran a hand over his face. The man looking back at him was not the same one who came to Ceres to deal with Kylo. It was a man he had seen too many times before - a man who once again had been defeated by his own foolish desires.

Exiting the bathroom, he found Kylo fully dressed again, sitting on the edge of the bed and resting his elbows on his knees. He followed Hux with his gaze as he walked past him and stopped by the door.

At this point, Hux figured there was only one thing the two of them could do.

"We'll call it a truce then,” he offered. “I'll get off this wretched asteroid they call a planet and you'll do... whatever it is you're doing here. We don't see each other again."

Kylo didn't immediately reply, but when he did, he said, "Or, you could stay."

Hux almost laughed out loud at that, taking it for what he assumed it was: a joke. A cruel joke, but a joke nonetheless. But when Kylo's dark eyes met his, Hux realised he was being serious.

"I can't stay," Hux quickly dismissed him. He really couldn't.

Could he?

"Why not?" Kylo pushed.

Hux stared at him with knitted brows. He didn't understand why Kylo was pressing the matter - why he seemingly wanted this. They had been a disaster together in the past and surely they would be a disaster together now. What had just happened between them was a slip-up - the disciplined mind momentarily surmounted by the needs of the flesh.

Besides, Kylo was the one who had made it clear that their relationship - if it could even be described as such - had to end. He had quite firmly stated that he had no room for distractions, and that was all Hux had needed to hear.

Outside of what was absolutely necessary, they hadn't spoken after that. And while Kylo might have found his way to Hux's bed on occasion - and Hux had recklessly allowed it - it had only been for pleasure, and he was always gone the next morning. If it weren't for the bruises and aches left behind, Hux would have been inclined to believe he had never been there at all.

"Why should I?" Hux asked sharply. There was more anger in his voice than anticipated, but Kylo kept picking at the scab on a wound Hux had fooled himself into believing was long healed.

Kylo's eyes went to the floor and his shoulders sank. He looked hurt and it confused Hux even more. There was clearly something Kylo wasn't telling him and Hux was fed up with whatever secrets he was holding back.

"Unlike you, I can't read minds. I don't know what you're thinking and I don't know what you want! I have no idea why you're asking me to stay because as far as I'm concerned you don't even like me!" he lashed out. Then he added, vitriol in his voice: "Perhaps besides my cock."

Kylo didn't reply. He kept quiet, his head bowed low as if in defeat, eyes firmly locked on some invisible spot on the dirty floor.

Pursing his lips, Hux shook his head. He threw his arms up and they fell back at his sides with a slap. He had clearly made a mistake. He should have killed Kylo. He should have killed him long ago.

Hux put his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave Kylo behind for good when Kylo mumbled behind him: "That’s not true."

Slowly, Hux turned. Kylo hadn't moved an inch and for a moment, Hux thought he might have imagined him saying anything at all. Then: "I didn't... I don't-" Kylo tried. He drew a deep breath before finally saying: "I needed you to believe that."

Hux blinked. He didn't understand what Kylo was trying to say.

"What are you talking about?" Hux pressed, annoyed.

"I needed you to believe that I was just using you. You have to understand, I stayed away to protect you."

Hux scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm a big boy, Kylo. I can take care of myself."

"No, you couldn't," Kylo replied almost desperately. "You don't know what Snoke was truly capable of."

"I was there," Hux reminded him. "I saw what he could do. Half the time I was at the receiving end of it."

Kylo shook his head fiercely. "You don't understand. What he did to me. What it was like. He was constantly inside my head, twisting and manipulating every single one of my thoughts. He owned me!"

"What he did to you?" Hux practically spat back at him. "What about what he did to me? What about what _you_ did to me?"

Kylo immediately averted his gaze. At least he had the decency to look ashamed.

There was a tense moment of silence before Kylo spoke in a quiet, serious voice: "There hasn't been a day I don't regret all the times I put my hands on you."

Hux almost didn't want to believe him. It was so much easier when he could be angry at him. He had forced himself to forget, to suppress whatever feelings he once had for Kylo. He had even learned to detest him - so much so that he fully believed that he hated him.

Until now.

The way Kylo sat slumped on the bed, shoulders slouched forward and head bowed low, made it clear to Hux that he had indeed changed. That rage that used to be his driving force, was gone. He looked tired. It was almost like there was no fight left in him at all.

"Snoke sensed our relationship," Kylo carefully began explaining when he realised Hux wasn't going to say anything. "He knew from the start. For a while, it even amused him. But when he realised that you meant more to me - that I… cared for you, he threatened to kill you. He said you made me weak."

Hux's jaw went slack at the bomb Kylo had just dropped. He stared unblinkingly into Kylo’s large brown eyes.

"I managed to convince him to spare you by promising to cut my attachment to you," Kylo continued. "He allowed it. I didn't understand it back then, but he knew that separating from you while still having to be close to you was a worse punishment for me than seeing you killed. It fuelled my anger and that's exactly what he wanted."

Hux suddenly felt a little lightheaded. What Kylo was saying was something he had even banished from his dreams because he knew it was impossible. Hux had been convinced that Kylo didn't feel the same way that he did for him. Yet, here he was, telling him that exact thing - that he did care and that he had all along.

It was difficult to make sense out of what seemed like nonsense, but Hux had to try. After all, this was what he had always wanted to hear from Kylo.

He turned away for a moment. The story was ludicrous. So ludicrous, in fact, that it could only be true. At this point, Kylo had nothing to gain by deceiving him. And to be honest, knowing Kylo, Hux didn't believe he was quite capable of coming up with such an elaborate scheme.

Perhaps there was a reason they had survived the war. Perhaps fate had decided to grace them with a second chance. Or perhaps they were simply two very lucky bastards.

Whatever the reason, Hux wanted this. More than that, he deserved it.

However, it wouldn't hurt Kylo to be pushed a little on the subject. If he was serious, surely he could take it.

Hux folded his hands at the small of his back and turned back around. He took a few steps closer to Kylo, effectively looking down on him where he was sitting at the edge of the bed. He seemed nervous.

"So, what you're saying is that you did all of this because you have feelings for me?" Hux asked him with a stony expression.

Kylo stared up at him and nodded silently. His lips were parted and his eyebrows slanted. He looked like a submissive puppy and Hux had to check himself so as not to break character too soon.

"And you're telling me this now? After you thought I died?"

Kylo swallowed. "It's too late, I know. But when you showed up here, I thought that I was given a second chance."

"You thought that I would somehow forgive and forget everything?" Hux asked him coolly.

Kylo blinked up at him and Hux could barely take how he looked so defeated. At his back, his fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and touch him.

"You said you knew me," Hux reminded him.

"I thought I did," Kylo replied hopelessly. "I thought that you wanted this too. That maybe we could-"

"Kylo," Hux cut him off. He couldn't keep up the charade any longer. His hand went for Kylo's face and grabbed his chin. "Shut your mouth."

Kylo immediately went mute and when Hux leaned down to kiss him it took him a few seconds before he realised what was actually happening. But once he did, he got to his feet and grabbed Hux, pulling him in by the waist.

When they parted, Kylo licked his lips and smiled. "You're staying then?"

"I'm staying," Hux nodded, unable to hide his own smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As always, comments and kudos are like a cup of perfectly brewed coffee in the early morning. In other words, much appreciated.
> 
> \-----------------------------------------------------
> 
> **Belter Creole translations:**  
>  \- Oye = Hello  
> \- Dzhemang = Asshole; lit. "man with crooked dick"  
> \- To wanya wa tim gut ke? = Do you want a good time?


End file.
